| Through its outlet to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea has long provided a southern maritime connection for Russia. However, since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the resulting independence of Ukraine, Russia's access to the Black Sea has been reduced. Lying on the border between Russia and Ukraine, the Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea to the much smaller basin of the Sea of Azov. At the northeastern corner of the Sea of Azov, the Gulf of Taganrog extends eastward to the delta of the Don River. Russian territory includes about 3/4 of the coast of the Gulf of Taganrog, the eastern and southern shores of the Sea of Azov, the east side of the Strait of Kerch, and a section of the northeastern coast of the Black Sea proper about 300 km (190 mi) long, extending from the Kerch Strait to the border with Abkhazia. The principal Russian Black Sea ports are Taganrog city on the Gulf of Taganrog and Novorossisk on the northeastern Black Sea; a third major port is under development at Taman on the Kerch Strait. In addition, from this coast there is an important connection through the lower Don River and the Volga-Don Canal to Russia's vast inland waterway system. In the Soviet Union, all lighthouses were closed to foreign visitors. Since the breakup of the Soviet empire, conditions have become much more free, and most of the lighthouses in this region are accessible to visitors. Some of the towers may be open, and better information on accessibility is needed. Photos and visitor reports would be welcome. Russian lighthouses are owned and operated by the Russian Navy, although some of them have civilian keepers. The Russian word for a lighthouse is mayak (маяк); mys (мыс) is a cape and ostrov (остров) is an island. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals and U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
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Krasnodar Krai Lighthouses
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![]() Novorossisk Range Front Light, Novorossisk, September 2006 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Vyacheslav Fomichev |
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![]() Chuska Range Front Light, Kerch Strait, August 2007 Panoramio Creative Commons photo by Sergey Ashmarin |
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Rostov Oblast Lighthouses
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Volga and Don | East: Abkhazia | West: Crimea | Northwest: Ukraine Sea of Azov
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Posted February 26, 2007. Checked and revised August 21, 2012. Lighthouses: 34. Site copyright 2012 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.